Element
by Zuzivlas
Summary: Our beloved group is enjoying the summer holidays before their sophomore school year. And a promising one at that since a new student will arrive and she’s a mutant! Xmen crossover
1. 1 New student

A/N Hi people! This is my second Sky High fic (I already wrote a poem called the Story of Warren Peace) though this one is going to be much more complex and certainly longer.

As you have probably guessed my favourite character is Warren and that's why he is one of the main characters in this. Unfortunately I do not own him or any other Sky High character (but that's what dreams are for). Jess, Angela and Mike on the other hand came out of my mind.

Still I don't make money of this so don't even bother to sue me. Not like I could pay it anyway, yada yada yada.

Oh and I'm not a native speaker so if you find any mistakes feel free to point them out to me.

Reviews of all kinds appreciated (even flames as long as they have a hint how to improve not just that it sucks).

So now on to the story.

**1. New Student**

It was just another day for the Stronghold family. Well, maybe not just another one, but they faced much more unbelievable situations than this. Will was still confused what was actually going on, Josie was doing the last touches while Steve looked like a little kid in front of a Christmas tree. He was so excited it was highly amusing. Today they will have many guests. First Will's friends and then the 3 people this fuss is about. For a second Will remembered how his parents told him the news.

The group of 6 students was occupying the Stronghold living room, discussing the first weeks of summer holidays which they spent more or less separately. Will called them over to hang out and because his parents wanted to tell them some news. After 2 hours of harmless chatter the pair arrived. Exchanging greetings they got to business.

"Mom, dad spill the news already, I can't wait anymore!"

"Calm down Will. I'm glad you are all here, the news we're about to tell you might be a bit shocking but none the less good. "

"Go on Mr. Stronghold, we are quite tolerant you know."

"I know that Layla. You all probably heard that the supers community liaised with another realm of reality. Before we say any more, what do you know about this?"

Ethan's face lit up.

"I heard it is very similar to our world and that they have their own version of supers. If I remember correctly they call them mutants. They have powers like us but get them in a different way. I think it has something to do with the change of their genetical code, but the old fashioned way - evolution."

Josie had to smile. It wouldn't be a surprise if Ethan knew more about it than her.

"You are very right dear."

"You mean they have super powers like us?" Will was, how to say it, a bit slow.

"Yes honey. And now our relations reached a new level and it was decided that a mutant student will be attending Sky High."

Now the surprise was really evident on their faces, even on Warren's. Sure you had to look closely and know him enough but it was there.

"Do you know the kid?" Majenta joined in for the first time.

"Oh yes. Her name is Jess and she is one of the strongest mutants known in her world. And she is an incredibly nice person." Steve was grinning like an idiot.

"Wait a moment. You said she will attend Sky High but that means she is still very young. So how come she is one of the strongest? What powers does she have?"

"You miss nothing, right Ethan? Though she will attend Sky High, she is a bit older than you for she is 19. And as for her powers, she controls the 4 elements."

"Wow. So she's like Warren right?"

"Not really. Warren creates fire and throws it, but has no control over it. She is the exact opposite. She can't produce the elements but has complete control over them. She can create any shape she wants out of the element ranging from a little fire dragon to a wall of water."

"I guess that makes her strong. But while we're at it, how come you can't control fire Warren?"

Only a few people could ask him something like this and survive it, but apparently Will was one of them. Still Warren's reply caught them a little of guard.

"Because it is very hard to tame and control fire. Believe me I've tried, but with little progress. I still can't make objects bigger than a fist. She must have great self-control and will to be able to do that and to such extends."

And after this he did something even less Warren like. With a bit of fear from being rejected he asked: "Do you think she would be willing to teach me how to do it?"

Everyone was shocked because Warren just asked for help (!), fortunately Josie recovered quickly and answered.

"I am sure she will be happy to do so. Actually she is teaching little kids how to control their powers so she has some experience with tutoring. Don't worry and simply ask her." She smiled at him reassuringly.

Suddenly Warren's face lit with a rare smile, though they are becoming more frequent and everyone just enjoyed the moment. The poor boy was rejected more often then not, all because of the mistakes his parents did. But last year he found friends who looked behind his parents, behind his mask of hate and indifference and found a little lost boy. They vowed to protect the little boy and don't let anything emotionally bad happen to Warren. Yet no matter their efforts he was still feared and hated by many. People are just so prejudiced.

Warren couldn't help it and asked.

"What is she and her world like?"

Steve smiled and answered him sounding almost like a proud father.

"She is a sweet young lady but don't anger her for you might face the wrath of the elements. She has it hard in life. In their world mutants aren't accepted like we are. We are loved here but they hate mutants over there. They fear them for a reason I can't understand and make their life very difficult. She knows about prejudice as much as you do Warren if not even more."

"What do you mean more?"

"You see, you are facing hate only when supers are considered. In your normal life you can go easily to a restaurant or a shop and you are regarded as some boy and not the child of a villain. But she doesn't have even this comfort. No matter where she goes, she has to face fear and hate. When she is walking down the street people look at her expecting she'll attack them any minute, which of course she wouldn't. They won't even let her eat in some restaurants and she can't go buy milk because the owner of the shop doesn't want mutants around."

"Now that must be really hard. I can't imagine I wouldn't be able to work at the Paper Lantern because they judged me by my father. How is she even able to cope?"

Seems like Warren has either a bad day or finally shows he is a caring person underneath. Either way Josie answered him.

"She has great friends and family whom she can trust and she is an optimist believing that the attitude of the people will change."

Layla sensed this to be an awkward topic and did her best to avoid it.

"So will she become a freshman? I mean 19 is young but still she will be older than the seniors."

"Actually we wanted to suggest her to become a sophomore like you. And as for her age, it is understandable they will send her. She has been an active member of the X-men for some years now; she can be trusted and will be able to handle this whole situation. You have to understand, the kid will leave the world she knows and enter a different realm to study here for years. They couldn't send any other kid just like that. Yet she will be far from her family and friends, in other words incredibly lonely."

"As a matter of fact, this is one of the reasons we decided to tell you all this. We hoped you could befriend her and make it easier for her to fit in. She will undoubtedly need such support."

A shared enthusiastic ´of course´ was heard in the living room making the superhero parents very happy and pleased though it was a bit of a surprise to hear Warren's deep voice as well.

"I suppose we told you all we wanted. Jess will be arriving in 2 days and we would be glad if you came to greet her. All of you."

Once again Josie got a shared answer of yes and with a content smile went to prepare some snacks with her husband leaving the teenagers to discuss this.

So back to the present day. The Stronghold household impatiently awaited the 3 mutants. Everyone was a bit on edge and Ethan's constant ramble about mutants, the other realm and such wasn't helping at all. Thankfully before someone could shut him up or burn him to crisps the doorbell rang.

"This is it." Josie went to answer the door.

On the other side stood 3 figures. A man somewhere along Steve's age in black jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. He was about 6 feet tall and certainly had muscles he could show of. Dark black hair was contrasted with his icy blue eyes. Next to him stood a woman apparently his wife. She was about 5 inches shorter dressed in a velvet blouse and a black long skirt. She had long red hair and green eyes. The third person was a teenaged girl dressed in blue jeans and a white tank top with some figures drawn in manga style. She was 3 inches shorter than her father with curves a girl would kill for. She had waist long hair that was blue while her eyes had a mysterious colour of grey.

"Angela, Mike, Jess it is so good to see you again. Please enter!"

"It's good to see you two as well Josie, Steve. And I take it this young man here is Will."

"Yes ma´am." Will blushed a little.

The now quite large group entered the living room and sat down.

"I believe some introduction is in order. So, how much do you know about our world? Just that I don't repeat what you already heard." Angela began.

Ethan was about to start an incredibly accurate, exhausting and long speech of what he knew but fortunately for everyone Josie beat him to it.

"They know enough about mutants and why you are here, but maybe you could explain more about your powers."

"With pleasure. Our powers aren't much different from yours. My name is Mike and I have the power over electricity. I can create and control it. In our world they call me Voltage."

"My name is Angela and I'm a telepath plus I can create force fields. My codename would be Force."

"I'm Jess and I can control the 4 elements thou I can't create them. Oh and I'm fireproof. If you haven't guessed it yet, they call me Element."

"You're fireproof? That's so cool man."

Jess couldn't suppress a grin. "If you say so, I guess it kinda is."

"Right, I think it will be better if we separate now. Ange, Mike we can discuss all about the school and accommodation while the kids can get to know each other."

"Jeez, I save the world over and over again, yet I'm still a kid to them."

"Ha, I'm sorry Jess but you will be attending a high school so technically you ARE a kid."

"So what? Just for your information I used to LIVE in a school my whole life. You know Xavier's school for gifted? Maybe you heard of it. Oh wait, you live there as well!"

"Yes but you were a student and a teacher back there. Here you are only a student. So here you are a kid."

"You forgot that I am an X-men as well. Does that count for nothing?"

"Yes, but while you are here, you won't be much of an asset to the rest of the team."

"Ah, I hate it when you actually have a point."

Josie stepped in before they got at it again.

"Now that we cleared that, I believe the ADULTS should go to the kitchen. Be nice sweethearts."

"Oh no, we most definitely will continue later dad. I ain´t done yet."

"Deal."

The adult part of the group finally went to the kitchen leaving 7 teenagers behind. Everyone tried to get as comfortable as possible occupying the couch and several chairs. For a few moments an awkward silence reined the room until Jess decided to start some conversation.

"So people you already know my name and powers, yet I can't say the same. It's only fair that you introduce yourselves."

"Oh, sure. Sorry. I am Will and I have both powers from my parents."

"Wow super strength/invincibility and flight? You kinda remind me of a team-mate back in my world, her powers are very similar."

"Really? She must be impressive yo."

"You can say that again. What about the rest?"

"Hello, I am Layla and I would like to welcome you to our world and our little group. I have no doubt you'll fit in. My power is bound with nature, I can control plants of all kinds."

"Hello to you too. Hmm, I guess I can relate to you and your powers quite well. It's always good to have someone who loves nature around."

"Thank you" It was the only thing Layla could reply burning bright red.

"My name is Magenta and I have the incredible power to transform into a black guinea-pig with a purple stripe. Ain´t I lucky?"

"That depends. You sure have it easy when you want to enter a room unnoticed or if you need to stay in very small places. You don't have to be sad or sarcastic about it, I know mutants that have it much worse."

"How about me? I am Ethan and I can melt into a puddle."

"Can you move while in such state?"

"Yes, why?"

"Than you can use it the same way as Magenta."

"O.K. now it's my turn. I am Zach and I glow. Ain´t it cool yo?"

"If you want to read at night or if there is a power shortage than sure it is."

"You see people at least she thinks it's cool. Finally someone acknowledged it."

"As I said before, there are much worse things. I know mutants that plain simply look different, they are hairy, or much taller or something alike, powers that can't actually be used at all… So I already know Will, Layla, Magenta, Ethan and Zach. One more to go."

´So who would tall, dark and handsome be hmm? Upps, apparently I spent too much time with Kitty and Rouge. But who could resist such hotness?´

´Sigh, I can just as well get it over with. She seems quite nice so why do I hesitate? But boy is she a balm for sore eyes. Wait, where the hell did that come from? Get under control hothead or rather hotpants!´

"My name would be Warren" he added Peace a bit timidly just to be sure. But since she didn't come from this realm she had no idea who his father was and therefore his name didn't affect her like it would anyone else. Plus she had enough common sense not to tease him about the sound of the name even though she knew of the novel (yes they have the same authors in both realms).

"I can create fire but I have certain problems controlling it. It's not easy or usual of me to ask for help but I would be very grateful if you agreed to teach me."

Even if she was hesitant or had some doubts the look in his eyes spoke volumes. She gave him a genuine smile and answered.

"It will be my pleasure. But I have to warn you it's going to be a lot of hard work and the progress will be probably quite slow. Just that you don't get disappointed if nothing changes for weeks."

He tried to remain indifferent but a smile of gratitude was slowly slipping past his hard exterior.

"Well, the most important thing is to have a strong will and a lot of patience."

That just about did it. The whole group fell about laughing so hard that they even had tears in their eyes. Warren had a look that could kill, least tried to but was failing miserably. Poor Jess had a look of shock on her face not really sure what she'd just said.

"O.K. I feel a little out of place here. What have I said?"

Will was the first to get a hold of himself or at least enough to be able to answer her question.

"It's just that Warren and patience don't mix. There's a reason why some call him hothead you know."

With this said she started giggling but tried to suppress it for Warrens sake.

"Interesting nickname I have to admit. So I guess you won't make it any easier for me to train you huh? Then again what could be even worse than to have a Danger Room session with Wolverine and Gambit in the early morning? I swear Cyke does that deliberately just to piss me of."

Only then did she acknowledge the fact that she wasn't home anymore and these people had no idea what or who the hell was she even talking about. The blank stares she got were prove enough.

"Upps, sorry. I just let myself be taken away. Soon you'll get to know them but for the time being I'm the only X-men staying here. Element at your service."

She accompanied these words with a mock bow that earned her some snickers from the group.

Behind a wall 4 _adults_ where hiding not to be seen by the teenagers, all of them with a content smile on their faces.

"I told you everything would be all right. She blended in perfectly. And she even agreed to help teach Warren. God knows he's been let down too many times in his life already."

"Maybe so Josie but I don't like the look he gave her. It was a wee to appreciating for my own taste."

"Oh come on Mike honey, whether you'll admit it or not she's old enough for that kind of staff. And looking him over I can't really blame her."

"Angela! What is this supposed to mean?"

"What do you think? I can easily imagine any female between 13 and 99 to fall for those killer looks. If I wasn't taken myself poor Warren would have more things to worry about."

She sensually licked her lips to add to Mikes anger.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Of course I am. I'm too old for him and sides I've got you. What more could I want?"

A smiling Steve decided to move the conversation elsewhere before they were actually spotted.

"Enough of peeping. We should discus where she's gonna live and some things about school as well. What about the kitchen?"

"Sure we're all yours now."

"We've already picked a few houses for her but this one is probably the best. It has 2 bedrooms and a guestroom with bathrooms attached upstairs, a nice and big living room with a kitchen downstairs and a basement. Big enough to accommodate her and even organise a sleepover but still not too much that she won't be able to clean up."

"That sounds great and don't worry about the cleaning up, she gets her fair share of that in the mansion probably more that just fare due to all her mischief. But I don't need to use telepathy to see there's something you're not telling us."

Josie sighed audibly.

"There's just one tiny little problem with the neighbourhood."

"And that would be?"

"It's right next to Warrens house."

"No way. I'm not letting her live alone next to that hormonally driven sex craving teen! My last word!"

Now it was Angelas turn to sigh.

"And you would know this about him how?" she asked in a resigned voice.

"Easy. All boys his age are the same."

"And you really think that living next to each other or on the other side of town will make a difference? As far as I remember it didn't stop YOU from visiting me. And don't forget she lived with Gambit under the same roof without anything happening and that says a lot."

Mike had a beautiful red colour on his face though it was impossible to tell whether from anger or embarrassment. Josie and Steve weren't so sure he pondered it himself or with a little telepathic persuasion from his wife but he finally came to a conclusion.

"Oh fine, but when she comes pregnant and crying back home it will be your responsibility."

"And here I thought you considered our daughter better than that."

"And if he forces himself on her what then?"

"Stop talking like that about the poor lad and sides like he even has a chance of doing that. Considering their powers and her training with Logan it's virtually impossible."

"I surrender. You got me there. I trust her and I guess I can trust him. So now onto school business."

He was glad to change the subject as soon as possible.


	2. 2 Show me your power

A/N Hi people I'm back with the second chapter! I beg you, please review I need your feedback, be it good or bad at least write me something. As always I don't own Sky High and certainly not Warren (fortunately for him, unfortunately for me) so don't even bother to sue me.

**2. Show me your power**

An hour slowly passed and Jess was already feeling at home with the bunch of teens.

´A weird group no doubt, but hell like the X-men are normal or don't have any issues.´

"Oh I've got an idea. Why don't we go to the Paper Lantern tomorrow?"

The invitation was well intentioned by Layla but it was met with a grunt of disapproval from Will (he still didn't like Chinese food all that much) and a curious look from Jess.

"And what exactly is it?"

"Whoops, sorry I forgot you didn't know. It's our favourite restaurant and place to meet plus Warren works there. I hope you like Chinese food though."

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to go. But Will what's wrong? You didn't sound so thrilled about it."

"It's just that I still don't know what's so great about the food."

After this Jess started laughing. "Apparently you never ever had to cook for yourself huh? Or eaten anything made by some members of the X-men either right? Trust me after TRYING to eat a dish made by Kitty you would kill to go there or end up with food poisoning."

Saying this with an incredibly disgusted face made everyone absolutely positive about the trueness of her statement. Some of them even made a mental note never to eat anything prepared by Kitty who ever she was.

"Must be joy to have her on cooking duty."

"You have no idea Maj. Almost as much as when it's Cajuns turn. To say the food is spicy would be a great understatement. I'm getting thirsty only thinking of it."

"So Paper Lantern it is then."

"Hold on a sec, you said Warren works there?"

"Yeah I do." He didn't like the evil glint in her eye one bit.

"And will you be working tomorrow?"

"Why do I dread answering? But yes, unfortunately I will."

´Oh, this is even better than I anticipated.´ "Great! I think I just found a way to work on your patience War."

"Come again, I don't think I understood you the first time."

"You know I could be the very impatient always complaining never happy or contented customer."

Maj was the first to notice she didn't really mean it and decided to play along.

"Maybe we should join as well for it to have some effect. What do you think Ethan?"

"Anything for the sake of training, anything to help a friend."

"Exactly. You know Wren we're best friends for a reason."

"Yeah, like who else would be willing to do this for you but us bro?"

"I know, I can complain that I ordered something vegetarian and you brought me meat!"

"Yeah and I can say your overall cooking isn't so great!"

"And don't forget the poor nutrition!"

"And the waiters are always so slow!"

By now the whole group was participating and Warren started fuming, literarily, ready to burst into flames. Jess couldn't hold it anymore it was so damn hilarious.

"O.K. people I think we had had enough fun. We better stop."

"What? This was a joke?"

"But of course it was just a joke. I would never do that I have some manners you know. But look at yourself you almost lost control because of such a stupid thing. We really need to work on it. You can't just power up every time someone is teasing you."

He had no idea what to say to that. She was right. He really had some problems controlling his temper. He shouldn't lose control like this and especially not with his friends. They would never do any of that but then again he could never be sure. His friends could be a bit unpredictable sometimes.

"There's one thing I would like to know though. You have such a short temper or is it more to protect yourself? A habit born out of years of bad experience maybe?"

He remained silent but the look in his eyes, she knew she guessed right.

"How did you know?"

"Experience. Both with myself and others. I had to put up with more obstacles in my life than I care to count. I know the emotions you have very well. Uneasiness, insecurity, fear and ultimately hate. Hating them for what they did to you. And hating the rest in advance just to make sure they won't be able to hurt you as well. Protecting yourself, hiding behind harsh words and a cold menacing exterior. Yes, I know this better than most."

"But you're nothing like that. You're friendly and easygoing."

"And what makes you think I've always been like this? Yes I've never been _that_ hostile but I had to face some issues."

"I wish I had the power of will to do that."

"But you did. Once this crazy bunch gave you a nudge in the right direction. Don't think me any better than you. I just had the benefit of friends, really persistent friends, from early on. You, at least I guess, didn't."

"But you do now Warren." Layla gave him an encouraging smile.

"Of course you do Wren. We're here whenever you need us."

"Coz that's what friends are for."

Now he was really speechless. He was touched. No one ever cared for him this much except his mother. But these people gave him courage. Courage to become a better person, courage to overcome his past, courage to open up once more.

"Warren you don't have to say what happened. I'm no where near being enough of a friend to hear that out. Not yet. But if you want to do something about it you'll have to open up one day. I can't help you if I don't know what with."

"I… thank you."

"What for? I haven't done anything yet."

"Oh you have. Probably the most important thing of all. You gave me hope."

"It was the least I could give you right now. As I said before I know exactly how deep the abyss can be and just how hard it is to get out of there. But enough of this deep thinking. Why not use the time and start with the most boring part of training?"

It took them all a few seconds to recover. One moment she was all psychological and understanding and the next she wanted to start the training. But then again it was probably for the best to change the atmosphere, it started to be too serious.

"You're unbelievable you know that?"

"People tend to say that about me. So ready?"

"I think so but just what are we going to do?"

"Well, first I have to find out to what extends do you control your power."

"He powers up and throws fire. That's about it." After this comment Maj had to hit Zach aver his head. Jess just smiled at him.

"Trust me it's much more complicated then that. Will would you be so nice and get me some paper and a pen so I can write down some notes?"

"Sure, no problem. But I still don't get it why you need to write it down. I mean there can't be so much to it."

"You'd be surprised. Get me the paper and we can start so you can see why I need it."

A few moments later she was sitting in the sofa opposite Warren with the paper in her lap. The rest was sitting all over the living-room restless with anticipation. Ethan probably more so coz this will be very interesting indeed. Warren had an expression somewhere between unsure and determined.

"O.K. so could you power up for me?"

He did as she asked.

"Hmm, interesting. I almost feel jealous (she can't create fire remember?). Can you form the fire into something else than just a ball?"

"I'm afraid that no."

"So if you form a ball, do you feel the fire?"

"Yes I think I do though I never paid it attention before."

"Good. Now if you throw the fire can you still feel it?"

"Never tried before."

"So do it to be sure."

"But it would destroy…"

"Ah, don't worry about that. I'll catch it so to speak. I certainly wouldn't want to destroy the Stronghold mansion on my first day here."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Fine." This said he threw the ball in the direction of a wall mindful not to hit anyone just in case.

"Wow, the fire stopped."

"Of course it did Zach, I told you so. Um people before I open my eyes just so you know they are connected with my powers. You can see in them which element I'm controlling. No need to freak."

"What do you mean?" Ethan barely asked before she opened them.

"Oh my god, her eyes are on fire!"

She smirked. "As I said they are connected with my powers. If I control fire it looks like they are burning. If I control water you can almost see waves in them. If I control earth they're solid, usually brown, with no white left. With air it is a little more complicated. They are light blue and it appears like something is moving inside, like I don't know, imagine a flag that is being moved by wind."

"Wow that is so fascinating."

"Thank you Ethan. But I believe we wanted to do something else than speak about my eyes. So Warren can you feel the fire?"

"I'm not sure."

"Try to close your eyes and concentrate."

"I… I feel nothing."

"Don't be sad. We'll work on it. So apparently you can feel the fire only while it's in your hand or at least very near. Hmm, and can you feel a fire not coming from you if it is in your hand?"

While she asked this she scribed down some notes.

"Never tried that either."

"Why I am not surprised? So we will try it now. Anyone here who has a lighter?"

"Sure you can use mine."

"Thanks."

"Maj how come you even have one?" It was a bit of a surprise to Layla.

"Ah, you know, my father seems to think it might be of use one day and makes all of my family members pack one wherever we go. And don't ask my why. I have absolutely no idea."

"Oh, O.K. I won't ask."

Jess lit the lighter and floated a fire ball more or less the size of Warrens one to his outstretched hand. The rest knew he was practically fireproof as much as her but some of them still cringed seeing this.

"Right now I want you to concentrate, close your eyes if it helps, and tell me if you feel anything."

But before he had time to do that something unusual happened. It appeared that his own fire kind of answered to this one and his hand spontaneously ignited as well.

"Wow, I didn't expect _this_! I'd say your body tried to make this fire its own, therefore you powered up without really wanting to. So I take it now you can feel it like you did your own just moments ago."

"Yeah but I can't remember this ever happening to me before." He gave his hand an intrigued look matched by the rest of the gang. Ethan even took a paper of his own and wrote some notes as well probably even more psyched than anyone else.

"I've never read about anything similar. This is just so fascinating!"

"You can say that again Ethan, you can say that again."

"Right. I think I know all I need for the moment the rest of the questions I wanted to ask won't be of much importance."

"What do you mean?"

"Curious aren't we Will? If he had more control I would ask him if he could feel several objects at once and if he could distinguish their size and shape. Or just how far could the element be for him to still feel it. If he could only feel it or move/change it as well and so on. I guess we'll save it for later, once you are that far, right Warren?"

"What ever you say. I had no idea it was this complex. No wonder I had little progress."

"Well, now you see what I was talking about earlier. I think first we should try some concentration exercises to improve your focus."

"Wow. I don't want to bother you but could you tell us about _your_ extend of control?"

"No problem Ethan but I'm afraid I'll only be able to describe it and not demonstrate. Where do you want me to begin?"

"Let's start with the range. Just how far can the element be for you to still control it?"

"Now that depends on a few factors. Mostly on the time I'm given to concentrate. With enough time I can easily control it on a several yards radius."

"And what exactly does it mean enough time."

"Well Layla, a few seconds should do the trick."

"And like how many yards does several stand for?"

"Well that depends. If it is continual, like water in a lake, then up to 100 feet though that depends on the depth of the lake as well. If you ask how far it can be for me to still reach it with my mind it could easily be over 100 yards but I need to concentrate hard for that so in a battle that's out of question."

This left the group speechless. Of course they expected to hear some great numbers but this was far more than they ever imagined. They could see now why she is believed to be one of the strongest.

"Now if that isn't kick-ass control I don't know what is." For once Maj didn't smack Zach for his comment.

"And like how many objects can you control at once?"

"Once again that depends on a few factors Maj. For instance just how big every object is. Sometimes it is much easier to control one bigger object than dozens of small ones though put together they _weight_ less then the big one."

"I know this is going to sound stupid but do you actually have some limits?"

She started laughing after this. "Of course I have limitations Will. Time is of much essence, my mental state as well, whether I'm in pain or not, and the motivation is probably the most important one. Given a good reason I can push myself much further that any of you can imagine. But that can be hazardous."

"And what do you mean with that?" asked Ethan scribing more and more notes down.

"She means her health."

"Warren is right. My mind doesn't have such limits as my body. It might happen that I just exhaust myself and need to sleep it of. Or I could end up in a coma for God knows how long. In the worst possible scenario I could even die."

No one, maybe except of Warren, awaited this. Sure to feel exhausted that's understandable it happened to Layla before but to die… they never pondered _that_.

"Oh come on, no sad faces guys the chances of that happening are slim to none."

"But they are there none the less?"

"Of course Will. And there's always the chance that I will go crazy, controlled by the elements rather than the other way around, and use my powers till I die. It happened to some. But as I said chances of that are almost non existent. I mean there's a bigger chance I'll get overrun by a car."

Layla couldn't take it any more the grim atmosphere was too much for her. So she decided to heighten up their spirits and suggested to play some games. They all agreed, even Warren though a bit reluctantly, and the living room was soon filled with shouts of joy and lots of laughter.

Meanwhile the 4 adults discussed everything of importance and several totally unimportant things as well and decided to join the teenagers.


	3. 3 Home sweet home

A/N Hi guys I'm back with chapter 3. I took me a bit longer to update than I originally planed but well, it's here and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (and that was a lot!). Please don't leave me hanging without reviews, it's very lonely to be a writer without them. Special thanks to **reviewer not a writer**, you really made my day and gave me new energy to write!

**3. Home sweet home**

The craziness just reached an all time high. Don't ask me what they did but the gang together with Jess somehow persuaded Warren to play Twister with them. Oh, what a sight! Currently it was Magentas turn to sit by the spinner and shout which limb to move to which colour enjoying the view immensely. No wait that would be an understatement. Just imagine Ethan and Zach almost in an embrace, Will with his head too near to Warrens ass (anyone else envying him?), Layla on top of him and somewhere underneath most of them Jess.

Will just decided to have a little fun and did the one thing no one could possibly come up with but him, he started tickling Warren. And you know what, he actually started laughing to the shock of everyone else.

"You're ticklish? Oh this is _so_ hilarious."

"You're a dead man if you don't stop now William Stronghold!"

"No matter what you're gonna do to me latter this is too good to stop yet."

"You little..."

He wasn't able to end the sentence because Will wasn't just tickling him, he pinched his ass! Due to this he lost his balance and started falling. He didn't even hit the ground, instead he landed on something firm but soft.

"War, would you be so nice and roll off of me? I can't support my weight and yours forever you know."

"Whoops, sorry. You're a dead man Stronghold, a dead man." A blush almost formed on his face but he suppressed it quickly enough. So, he was out of the game for now and could enjoy the view himself.

Fate had it, or Magentas ability to cheat, that their positions changed a bit. Now it was Jess in a sandwich between Will and Zach, Ethan clustered on Zachs right side and Layla in a very uncomfortable position with her left hand on one end of the Twister carpet and right leg going underneath Will on the other.

Warren couldn't let this opportunity pass, he fished a camera out of God knows where and made a few photos. All of them could be used either to his and Magentas entertainment or for blackmail.

A few minutes passed and Ethan with Layla fell to the ground and lost. So now it was Jess versus Will versus Zach. Several turns later Zach was almost lying on top of Will while Jess had to do an upward bow above them. This in itself wasn't very comfortable and to make it even more interesting Will tried the same trick again and started tickling her. Unfortunately she was as ticklish as Warren and therefore had great problems maintaining her balance.

Meanwhile the adults decided to find out just what the teens were doing since the laughing reached new levels. Upon witnessing the all-out tickling war twister style they froze to the spot. Jess was laughing uncontrollably, balancing on her hands unable to do anything since she wouldn't surrender no matter what. Will took full advantage of that with Zach seriously pondering which one to help. Finally he decided to help Will resulting in her downfall.

She couldn't take it anymore but at least intentionally dropped on them. So now there was Will lying on the floor on his back, Zach laying on top of him in a rather seductive way and Jess sprawled on the both of them.

Camera in hand Warren took several more pictures gaining more blackmail material then he could have ever hoped for. Steve and Mike had a hard time holding it together,3…2…1…, they lost control and were literary rolling on the floor laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. Josie and Angela had quite similar problems but they were able to compose themselves enough though a few giggles escaped their lips as well.

"You sure you're old enough for this? And to do it in the public…"

"Dad! Stop it!"

"Oh, I don't know Jess," turning to Warren he asked "You think you could give me some of those photos?"

"Hmm, let me think about it. But yes, of course."

"No, no, no. Don't you _dare_ show those to Remy or Kitty and certainly not Bobby!"

"But they'd love to see them you know."

"Oh God, I'm not gonna live this down. Good thing I'm staying here."

"And why do you think it won't be used against you here?"

"Maj, honestly you're not helping matters any."

"Oh sorry Will but you're in no position to speak like that. I mean that's _my_ boyfriend you're seducing!"

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"You know Jess, it would help if you got off of me."

"Well Zach, I'd love to but my leg and my hand are securely under Will and unless he moves I won't be able to stand up."

"And like how the hell am I supposed to move with the two of you lying on top of me?"

"I don't care how, just do it!"

O.K. I'm not sure all of you, my readers, are old enough to see just how they tried to stand up or to hear the audio that accompanied it. So let's fast-forward a few minutes (yes it took them that long).

"Man, I've never thought I'd lie on top of you Will."

"What, you liked it than much?"

"Of course yes, no, no, wait, I mean of course not!"

"Uh huh. You don't sound very convincing."

"You're very right Maj. What exactly are we going to do with our boys? Coz apparently they were enjoying it a lot. "

"Layla! You've got to be kidding me here!"

"But yes my dear. It's just so cute to see you this shade of red in face I couldn't help it."

2 more hours passed and the visitors decided it was time to go see the house they chose for Jess to live in. Everyone promised to help them move in. Firstly they wanted to refuse this offer but thinking it over Wills and Steves strength could be of great asset, so ultimately they agreed.

They had several boxes and some furniture sent from the X-mansion. The Bureau was generous enough to give them a truck where they put all of Jess´ possessions.

It was a bit of a surprise to both Warren and Jess to find out they'll be neighbours but it had some benefits. For example arranging a training session won't be as hard and it will certainly help her to feel more at home since now she had a friend nearby.

Everyone curiously walked into the house. Jess was thrilled, she never had a whole house all to herself before. Some of the teens were probably already making plans for a sleepover, Angela and Mike started to have second thoughts about all this and Josie together with Steve regarded the place with a trained eye of real-estate agents.

"Wow, all of this will be mine? Cool."

"More than cool!" Normally Maj would smack Zach but she agreed wholeheartedly and thus only rolled her eyes.

"Ange you sure it was a good idea to give her a whole house?"

"Why not? What could happen?"

"Well, you know what she used to do back home."

"So what, I'm a bit of a prankster. It's not like I'm gonna do anything like that here since this house is _mine_. And sides Cyke had it coming."

"Maybe he had but it was still over the top."

"Ah, I admit we got carried away with Bobby and Rems."

"I can understand that but it was really too much for poor Scotty. I think he has never completely recovered from it."

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad! I mean if we would do that to Logan then yeah. I guess we had at least some sense not to provoke the Wolverine."

This made Angela loose control, she was falling about laughing. The teens gave her some weird looks, Mike was snickering and Josie with Steve had an understanding look.

"Well, I'm not that keen on being tortured. I don't even want to imagine what he would do to us. And neither do Bobby and Rems. O.K. maybe the Cajun is crazy enough to try something bet certainly not this."

"And like what exactly did you do to him?"

"Oh, you know, let's just say we repainted the boathouse, that's where he lives with Jean."

"Repainted?"

"Yeah, and redecorated."

"Do we even want to know?"

"Maybe not."

"Oh, no, you won't get off the hook so easily Jess. Just tell them so they know what they'll be dealing with in the upcoming months."

"I really have to?"

"Yes."

"Damn. Ah well, you see, Scott sometimes tends to be, how to put it mildly, a stiff unnerving bossy boy scout."

"And just what would the not so mild description be?"

"You're not old enough to hear that Maj. He's not like that all of the time but he was that day."

"Oh come on, the Danger Room session couldn't have been that bad."

"Yeah? Try having one with Rems and Bobby at 6:30 a.m. the Doom level."

"O.K. maybe it was that bad."

"You bet. So he really pissed us off and we decided it was time for a payback. 3 days later we had everything figured out, we bought all the necessary staff and waited for the right opportunity. It came the next week. He had to go on a mission that would take at least 2 days. Fortunately Jean was currently staying with her family on a holiday so we could do whatever we wanted. Long story short, we painted at least half of the house pink, placed tons of Hello Kitty and Mashimaro stickers just about everywhere. And we did quite a number on his fridge and TV. Both of them resembled Pikachu and when you opened the fridge or turned on the TV it started making sounds of Pika pika! Oh yeah, and we did some things in the bathroom as well. The shower had a real life Winnie the Pooh in it, and we placed an oversized Smurf on the toilet it a nice sitting position. I think we even added a newspaper for the effect."

By now they were all looking at her wide-eyed, too shocked to say anything or even laugh. Sure they expected something silly but this was far beyond anything they could come up with.

"And how exactly did he find out all of this?"

"A good question Ethan. When he returned from the mission he was exhausted. Rems just had to use a bit of his persuasion and he was well on his way to his bed without really noticing his surroundings. After a good nights sleep he woke up to the newly redecorated house. If I remember correctly we could hear his screams all thru the grounds and that covers a lot of space."

"Yes, he was rather expressive. Some even rushed there thinking we were under attack."

"I can tell you one thing, it was worth the punishment and very much so."

"Maybe Jess but I'm afraid he still has some nightmares about it."

"Serves him well. I'm not his slave and I have my limits. He drove us too far in that session. We were hardly standing on our own legs after it and I had a master headache for the next two days."

"I admit he shouldn't have made you handle so much at once."

"Wait a moment. I've seen you doing incredible staff without as much as breaking a sweat. What has he done to you for it to have such effects?"

"Lets just say Josie that I can handle holding great amounts of an element in the air but I can't do it to such extends with all of them at once. And it wasn't just holding them in one place. I had to move them around and be very conscious of where my team mates were so I wouldn't hit them accidentally. And after that he did the worst thing he possibly could."

"What could be even worse than that?"

"That's easy Steve. He activated a force field that restrains mutant powers and then he let her stay in the flames."

"Mom's right. Do you have any idea how challenging that is?"

"Are you telling us you are still fireproof even with your powers restrained?"

"Yes I am but it hurts a lot more."

"More?"

Jess had a sad smile on her face. "Funny, whenever I say I'm fireproof everyone automatically thinks I don't feel the fire on my skin. Of course it's no way near the pain you feel after being burned but it still hurts. And it's much worse if I don't have my powers. Then it hurts a lot. As a matter of fact I can't stay in the burning fire for very long. Without my powers 5 minutes can be too much."

"And like how long did he let you stay in the flames?" Warren wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know.

"I can't say for sure but it had to be at least 7 minutes."

"But you said 5 were too much."

"Yes Layla. That's why I lost consciousness."

"Oh God, how could he have done that to you? I mean the danger and possible damage, and.. and…"

"Because he thought it was the right thing to do. He wanted me to improve, wanted to make sure I would be able to face any problem with or without my powers. He just crossed the line. Don't get me wrong he's a good leader but sometimes he worries too much something's gonna happen to us that he tries to prevent it in a not very suitable way."

"Man and here I though Boomer was driving us hard last year." Do I even have to write who said it? Probably no.

"Right, I think we should start moving all of the things in here. It's 5 o'clock already and we haven't even started!"

Josie was right of course and everyone was probably thankful for the distraction as well. Funny, no matter how innocent the topic they started was, they tended to end in a very serious conversation.

I don't think I have to name every piece of furniture or every box they brought and where they placed it. Let's just say that with all of them it was done in 2 and half hours, I mean there were 11 of them and she didn't have so many things to begin with. So now they were all sitting in the living-room on the sofa, on some chairs or on the floor. Jess brought some photos to her new house either framed or in her laptop. Naturally they persuaded her to show them and she agreed.

There were many photos from her childhood ensuring into several aww moments. She was quite a cute kid with that blue hair, this clearly showed it wasn't dyed but her natural colour. There were some family photos with her parents and then some with the X-men members. They mapped her growing up from a little kid to the woman she is now. In some she was smiling, in some she had a laughing fit and in others she had a sad look. Understandably so considering her life yet it made her parents regret some things.

They found photos of several mutants playing volleyball, basketball, soccer or other sports. In some the whole team was in their battle costumes making the teens either stare in awe or laugh. There were even photos of when she was using her powers. These were really interesting since none of the _kids_ have seen her doing that properly (the small fire balls back in the Stronghold living-room don't count). The fire or water circling her gave her a presence of a goddess. They gave her that certain eternal feeling you could see when Storm was commanding the weather.

Somehow they ended up watching a few family videos. In one of them Jess was fooling around with Jubilee, Kitty, Bobby and Remy. They were engrossed in a snowball fight girls against boys. Bobby was cheating left and right because he claimed the odds weren't fair either. After some time new teams were formed and it ended with Jubilee, Bobby and Remy against Kitty and Jess. Snowball after snowball were thrown at the girls and Kitty in order to save herself phased thru most of them. Naturally that only meant that Jess wasn't only hit by her share but Kitties as well. For reasons unknown Remy decided to cover her (Jess) in snow completely so now he tried his best to make her stumble and fall. Ultimately he succeeded but ended covered in snow as much as her.

The rest of the evening was spent in this comfortable atmosphere all of them exchanging stories. At about 10 o'clock some of them decided it was time to go home. Before they left they once again made plans to go to the Paper Lantern tomorrow. Warren promised he would take Jess there with him since she had no idea where it was.

Commander and Jetstream stayed a bit longer. They agreed it would be for the best to go speak with Principal Powers and generally to go to Sky High as soon as possible since Angela and Mike will be returning home in 4 days. They volunteered to arrange the meeting on the day after tomorrow. This way she could find out some details about the school from the teens and still could go there with her parents. It's not like she needed such parenting but they wanted to discuss some matters that didn't concern only her.

At about eleven even Josie and Steve left. Jess went to her bedroom trying to catch up some sleep but was far too excited to do so. A very interesting path lay ahead of her. Sure it will be hard from time to time but she already had friends that would help her, she already felt like she belonged and that's something that doesn't happen very often.


End file.
